HKMU — Service Learning & Community Internship: Beyond the Classroom
Use this as a referenceThe Brief: Learning through Community Service
HKMU’s Service Learning & Community Internship Programme encourages students to take their learning beyond the classroom and work with people in the community. Darkroom Studio was commissioned to produce a documentary following three groups of students, exploring what they learnt through service and how they contributed to the activities they joined.
The Approach: Three Stories with a Shared Purpose
The film follows parallel stories to show moments from different areas of community work:
Making Sport More Accessible: The film follows students supporting darts training for people with visual impairments and other disabilities. It records how students act as guides, patiently explaining scores and positions, and shows the communication and consideration involved.
Creative Activities for Children with SEN: The Little Artists workshop brings students together with children with special educational needs. The filming focuses on children enjoying creative activities and interacting with their parents, showing the patience and encouragement that students bring to the workshop.
Learning in a Social Enterprise: An interview with a student on a social enterprise placement explores her work organising activities for single-parent families. She reflects on balancing commercial and social aims, gaining workplace experience and finding value in her contribution.
The Finished Film: A View of Whole-Person Education
The film goes beyond introducing a programme to record how people learn from and support one another. Students’ experiences and reflections give a practical view of the interpersonal learning that sits alongside academic study at HKMU.
About the HKMU Service Learning & Community Internship Film
Year: 2023
Q&A
How does the documentary use parallel stories to show the range of service learning?+
Darkroom Studio follows three strands: students helping people with visual impairments take part in darts, running an art workshop for children with special educational needs, and supporting single-parent families through a social enterprise. Together, these stories show different ways students put their learning into practice in the community.
How did the filming capture warmth and small interactions during the activities?+
The camera looks closely at the relationships within each activity: the concentration of a student explaining darts scores to a participant with a visual impairment, or a child smiling while painting. These unforced moments give a tangible sense of the learning and connection taking place between participants.
Why might a university use a film to communicate students’ interpersonal learning?+
University learning also includes empathy, communication and reflection. This film introduces whole-person education through students’ accounts of their experiences. It gives families and the wider public a way to understand HKMU’s approach to developing social awareness alongside academic knowledge.
- Client
- Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU)
- Project
- Service Learning & Community Internship Programme
- Services
- Documentary interviews, event highlights and university promotional films
- Date
- 2023-05-05
